


New Protocols

by esteefee



Category: Alien Series
Genre: Artificial Intelligence, F/M, Families of Choice, Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:13:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28513218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/esteefee/pseuds/esteefee
Summary: Lance Bishop is free.
Relationships: Dwayne Hicks/Ellen Ripley
Comments: 17
Kudos: 52





	New Protocols

**Author's Note:**

  * For [keiramarcos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keiramarcos/gifts).



> Watched Aliens again and this happened.

After Bishop participates in rigorous debriefs with the Colonial Marine Corps, and after helping to file complaints with the Colonial Federation Department of Justice, Ripley, Hicks, and Newt settle down in a small block on Earth station where Bishop is proud to assist in helping Newt sue Weyland-Yutani by offering his digital testimony as to the atrocities Burke and the Corporation were responsible for on LV-426.

To Bishop's surprise, Newt doesn't ask for much in compensation, just for the Corporation to pay for her education and housing and for them to pay to free the Artificial Human that saved her life.

Lance Bishop is freed.

"What will you do now?" Newt asks Bishop. "Will you go away?"

Bishop tucks his USCM contract papers—stamped with a seal as paid in full—into his overalls, and says to Newt, "I hear there's an opening for a tutor in your block. I thought I might stick around."

Newt's smile is tiny but perfect. 

So, Bishop discovers he has become part of their strange little family. They provide him a tiny room and maintenance station of his own. He's never been inside a circle of humans before. Ripley seems to have lost her wariness toward him. Hicks was always friendly before, and now seems to lean on him in a way that Bishop finds disconcerting. Hicks asks him for advice; claps him on the shoulder like he did his old teammates; offers him a stipend and apologizes that it can't be more.

Even more disconcerting is Newt's affection. She likes to stay close, her small fingers tugging his sleeve. She's apprehensive, at first, being in a new place, and sleeps under her bed instead of on top of it. Ripley joins her for a few nights before Bishop volunteers.

"I don't need sleep," he says. "So I can keep watch for her." He doesn't mention Ripley's pained stiffness when she rises from the floor in the mornings.

"Thanks, Bishop," she says and nods in gratitude.

It's something he would have offered to do when he was indentured, and wouldn't expect thanks for, but now...now, he realizes, he deserves the thanks. 

"You're welcome," he says.

Eventually, Newt chafes at being stuck in such a small space and escapes through the vents. Hicks takes Bishop and finds her using a tracking device he'd asked her to put on—this one fashioned like the kind of bracelet any little girl would wear. 

They find her in the vent overlooking the commons, where families gather to mingle with each other. There is a fake waterfall projected on a large screen, and various tables and couches with friendly lighting. The vending machines provide everything from frozen desserts to full meals with the push of a button.

"Hmm," Hicks says loudly, loudly enough to carry up to the vent. "I'm hungry for some ice cream. How about you, Bishop?"

"I don't require—" He halts at Hicks' expression and says, "I'd love to try some ice cream."

"I'll get us some. You have a seat right here."

Bishop does as Hicks asks and seats himself at the table right below the vent. He watches as Hicks punches some buttons at the machine and comes back with a three large bowls of ice cream on a tray.

"Lots of flavors to choose from," Hicks says. 

"I've never had ice cream before. Which should I try first?" Bishop asks.

"Chocolate is best," a little voice drifts down from the vent.

"I think you should try vanilla," Hicks says, a smile quirking his lips.

"No! Chocolate."

"All right," Bishop says. "I'll try vanilla."

The vent pops open and Newt slithers out, her face smudged with dirt. She sits between them and says, "Try the chocolate, Bishop!"

"If you say so, Newt." He takes a small spoonful and eats it. He doesn't have taste buds, per se, which he's grateful for, considering the synthetic petroleum and oxidation-inhibitor additives he's forced to ingest daily for his upkeep. A little bit of foreign matter won't disturb his system as long as he takes care to flush it later. "Mmm. Yum."

"Right? Chocolate is best," she says, scooping a big spoonful and licking at it, smudging ice cream all over her face.

"I like burrynut," Hicks says. "Hey, c'mere, squirt." He dips a napkin in his water glass and cleans the dirt from Newt's face while she squirms to evade him. "There. Good as new."

"I wanna try burrynut."

"Goes good with chocolate. Give it a shot."

Newt combines her chocolate with Hicks' burrynut and nods enthusiastically. Hicks grins at her antics.

"What's this? You all are having an ice cream party without me?" Ripley says.

Bishop gets to his feet to offer her his chair, but Hicks is already moving to grab one. He must have sent her a message when they found Newt. 

"Try the burrynut, Ripley! It's good with chocolate."

"I believe I'm the one who introduced Dwayne to burrynut." She shares a smile with Hicks that makes Bishop look away. Some things about humans still make him uncomfortable.

"Here. Take mine. I'm full," Bishop says, handing her his bowl. 

"Thanks." It's a testament to how comfortable she's grown with him that Ripley doesn't hesitate in taking the bowl and starting to eat the remaining ice cream. And it's further testament to how far Newt has come in her recovery that she sits between them watching all the other families with wide eyes as she eats her treat, bursting out into giggles when Hicks finishes his own ice cream and pretends to try to steal Ripley's.

"Can you believe this guy, Bishop?" Ripley says, smiling. How interesting. She's developed a new protocol for him. She now smiles at him.

And when her smile widens slightly, Bishop realizes he's smiling back.

"Remarkable," Bishop says, and he means it.

  
.............................  
January 2, 2021  
San Francisco, CA


End file.
